Moonlight Fluff
by dreamflyer1100
Summary: After a heist, Kaito makes a curious find in the dark of an alley. What is the strange creature he has found and what is he going to do with it? (character is based on a species called Nukos; please read Nukoduke! to get a better idea) There will be no romance and I will try to update at least once a week. [ON HIATUS]
1. Rainy Moon

Chapter 1

Kaito sighed as he glided over the tall buildings. Another night and no closer to finding Pandora. Not to mention, it had been a rather boring heist since the little detective wasn't there to make things interesting. With the full moon guiding Kaito, he spotted a good place to land near an alley.

Tucking in his glider and landing without any problems, he mentally patted himself on the back for tonight's work. Just as he was about to change into his school uniform and head home, a small sound made him freeze.

_Did the police manage to follow me without me noticing? _Kaito thought, taking out his card gun and a few smoke bombs.

When no one came, he wondered if he had imagined it, but stayed on guard just in case. When he heard a faint but clear, Hachoo! Kaito realized that it hadn't been his imagination. Someone really _was _nearby. As another sneeze rang out into the darkness, he made his way towards it. Something in his gut was telling him it wasn't anything dangerous. So, with his interest piqued, he tucked the card gun and smoke bombs away.

Pulling out a flashlight, the magician searched for the sneezing. But as he was sighing and getting ready to give up, another sneeze, this time quite loud and clear, alarmed him. Glancing at the ground he saw a little cardboard box with something inside. Something _fluffy._

With Kaito's curiosity suddenly wanting in on the action, he kneeled down to get a better look. An indignant sound cried out at the sudden brightness (which made Kaito internally squeal; not that he'd ever admit that). Inside the box was a fluffy brown ball. As he brought the light towards the box, shining on the contents, another mewl came from the ball. It wiggled a bit and then stopped.

_What is this thing? _He thought to himself.

Just as he was thinking, a light rain began to fall.

"Crap!" Kaito mumbled to himself.

As he began to get up and leave, he heard a soft whine. Turning back to the box, he saw the ball shiver. Kaito hesitated before changing into his school uniform with a poof of smoke and grabbed the box. Quickly producing an umbrella, he took off in the direction of home.


	2. Nukos

Kaito glanced inside the little cardboard box for the hundredth time. Something about the little creature inside the box made him doubt he was awake. Then again, he knew Akako was a witch and that magic existed so... What was he supposed to do with it? He had brought it home with him on a whim and now he wasn't really sure what to do.

Kaito pulled open the door to his house and rushed inside, clutching the cardboard box. The rain had suddenly started pouring a while ago and the magician had had to sprint to not get soaked. As he caught his breath, he looked over at the box in his arms. The fluffy ball was shivering but appeared to be fine.

"I better dry off," he mumbled, setting the box down on a nearby table and heading for the bathroom.

Big brown eyes blinked open. Why was it not as cold as before? Why was there so much light? As the gears turned, an unfamiliar sound shocked the owner of the eyes. Rolling back into the ball it had been in before, the owner hoped it wasn't going to die.

Kaito thought he saw movement in the little box as he came into the kitchen. Dismissing the thought as a trick of the light, he set to work making a cup of cocoa. As soon as his back was turned however, he heard a soft scratching sound. Turning to face the noise, he thought he saw a flash of brown. But it was gone before he could even begin to process it.

Glancing inside, the little brown fluff ball was still there. The magician turned back to his cup of warmed milk and began to pour the chocolate inside. Again, there was a soft scuffling sound. Pretending to have not heard it, Kaito calmly mixed the chocolate into the milk. As the sound grew louder, he suddenly turned around to see a little creature that looked shockingly human. It would've been a tiny human child had it not been for the animal ears on top of the mess of long brown hair. Big brown doe eyes stared back into his indigo ones. For a moment, Kaito thought he was dreaming. He pinched himself which caused the creature to flinch in surprise and dive back into the box.

For what seemed like the thousandth time that night, the magician thief peered into the box. The little ball was there, but it seemed to be shaking. Sighing, he caught sight of his cell. Maybe Akako would know what this thing was. Maybe it was some sort of magical beast. Punching her number into the keypad, he patiently waited as the familiar "trrrr trrrr" sound filled the room.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Koizumi," Kaito almost instantly began regretting his decision.

"Ara, Kaito? To what do I owe the pleasure?" the witch's voice was filled with merry mischievousness.

"I…found something. I don't know what it is," came the reply.

"You found something?" Akako's voice was suddenly serious.

"Yeah. It's some sort of…creature," Kaito scratched the back of his neck.

"And what does it look like?"

"Uhhh…it looks like a really teeny human kid. With…I guess cat ears?" the magician was having trouble trying to recall the unbelievable scene he had witnessed just a few minutes ago.

"Ah," Kaito heard the witch laugh.

"It seems you've found a nuko," she told him.

"Excuse me?" he found himself asking.

"Nukos are by no means a magical being. Cat-like hominidae. Nicknamed 'Nuko'. They are a species that has evolved from cats to be closer to humans," Akako explained.

Kaito was silent for a few moments.

"If that is all, I have something I need to attend to, my dear phantom thief," and with that, the witch was gone before Kaito could protest that he wasn't KID.

Sighing and turning back to the box where he spied big brown eyes staring at him.

"What am I supposed to do with a nuko?" he asked the air.


	3. Food

The little Nuko stared up at Kaito with big brown eyes. He had to admit, the creature was pretty cute.

There was a small growl and the Nuko flinched.

"Hey, are you ok?" Kaito asked.

The Nuko shook its head and dived back into the box.

It seemed to still be wary of him.

"Are you hungry?" he tried.

Fuzzy brown ears perked up.

A yes, then.

Kaito chuckled. "Ok, I'll make some food. Hold on a sec."

The magician set to work making a simple meal of grilled chicken.

_It's a cat so it eats meat, right?_

He placed the chicken on a small plate and set it next to the box.

Kaito watched as the Nuko sniffed the air and jumped out.

It sniffed the chicken a few times, and sitting down, it grabbed the piece of meat and began to eat.

Now, Kaito could clearly see the creature.

It was only about a foot tall with a round babyish face and brown hair falling to its legs. A soft brown tail curled around the body, effectively covering anything that might be revealed. Brown cat ears twitched as the Nuko dug into the meat.

"A Nuko, huh?" he mumbled.

The Nuko glanced up at Kaito for a moment before returning to the chicken.

"Can you even understand me?" the magician sighed.

After the chicken was gone, the Nuko crawled back into the box and stared at Kaito.

Eventually, the creature fell asleep, leaving Kaito alone with his thoughts.

_A Nuko looks basically like a cat so it shouldn't be too much work right? I can't throw it back outside..._

A soft whine made Kaito look in the box.

The Nuko's face was scrunched up and it was shivering.

"Of course it's cold," he smacked his head lightly.

Kaito went to grab a soft towel and placed it on the Nuko.

After a while, it stopped shivering.

Looking at that serene face made Kaito's chest feel warm and fuzzy.

"I guess it won't be too bad... Taking care of a Nuko..."


	4. Not Scared

Morning had come and gone, and the Nuko was still in its box. Kaito began to wonder if the little fluff ball was ok. His initial estimation of the Nuko's height was off as it seemed they were only actually about as large as 2/3 a phone book. The Nuko only seemed bigger because of its hair. Speaking of hair, the thing was covered in it. The head of brown hair was unkempt and practically twice as long as the body. The tail was unkempt as well, although it must've been quite a sight when cleaned.

Kaito and the Nuko stared at each other until a rumble came from the little body. Kaito couldn't help but laugh. The Nuko turned a bright cherry red and covered its face with its tiny hands in embarrassment.

"Hey, hey, it's ok! I'll get something for you to eat," Kaito smiled, trying to reassure the little Nuko.

Fluffy brown ears perked up.

"Do you want some chicken like last night? Or would you rather have something else?"

The Nuko tilted its head. Kaito wondered if it even knew what chicken was. Going by looks alone, it looked as if the poor thing just dove into trash and ate whatever. Going off the smell also told a similar, stronger story. Actually, that was the second thing he was going to have to take care of. Giving it a bath.

"Um, would you like the same thing as last night?"

The Nuko nodded its tiny head up and down furiously. It was quite the funny sight. Up until its hair started flinging bits of trash and dirt into his face. That was the final straw. Kaito picked up the Nuko and avoided getting scratched as best he could. He carried the panicking creature into the bathroom and began to fill up a small basin with lukewarm water, while also trying to keep a grip on it as it tried to escape.

"If you want food, then I have to clean you first! I won't hurt you so stop struggling!" Kaito tried to tell it, as he shut the door with his foot.

The Nuko's big brown eyes started to water and it began to produce some of the most heartbreaking sounds Kaito had ever heard. As it cried, Kaito felt the tiny body go limp.

"Ok, ok, there's nothing to be scared of, see? It's just water," he dipped his hand in the basin and stirred the water around. "No reason to be scared, see?"

The little Nuko temporarily stopped mewling to stare into the basin and watched Kaito wiggle his fingers.

"You like that?" Kaito wiggled his fingers some more. "Water isn't scary, right?"

The phantom thief took his chance and gently placed the Nuko next to the water and let it watch. He continued to wiggle his fingers until the Nuko slammed a hand in the water. He watched its reaction as it pulled out and scooted a few inches away.

He took his hand out of the water and moved it closer to the Nuko. It sniffed his hand and started to lick his finger as a drop of water slid off.

"It's just water," he whispered, petting the top of its head. "Nothing to be scared of."

Kaito withdrew his hand and the Nuko stepped up to the basin, sticking both hands into the water this time. It shuddered but didn't move.

"Not scared," it mumbled, flexing its hands and wiggling its fingers. It looked up at Kaito and grinned. "Not scared!"


End file.
